Beijing, July 9 (IANS) China on Monday said it has clinched a deal with India on the reduction of import duties on Indian medicines including anti-cancer drugs, which are highly expensive in the country.

Beijing, which earlier announced a cut on import duties on over 8,500 Indian items, said it will relax taxes on more goods from India and other countries as its trade war with the US heats up.

As discussed between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Wuhan summit in April, China has granted more access to Indian pharmaceutical companies.

“We believe the expansion of imports and slashing of tariffs on anti-cancer medicines will usher in great opportunities for India and other countries in the region,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

“We have decided to expand our imports as well as opening up. This is what China needs in order to uphold the free trade and work against protectionism. It is also in keeping up with our own pace of development and opening up,” Hua said while referring to the ongoing trade war between China and the US.

The two countries slapped tariffs on each other’s products to the tune of $70 billion last week.